Dancing
by Gakushi
Summary: "Winry knew all too well how much he disliked that ritual and he could count with his fingers the times they did it. Of one hand only, but he couldn't say he didn't enjoy it." Warning: Chap 108 spoilers!


A/N: Hey ^^ here's my very first attempt to write a FMA fanfic, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it ^^ and don't forget to leave a review!

***WARNING* C****HAP 108 SPOILERS**

**Dancing**

"Where did he go this time?" He was running out of patience. After all, Edward Elric was never a patient person, specially late at night after a long day of chasing after his son. "Andrew!" He exclaimed in a controlled tone. The accurate sense he gained in his years on the road, made him stop to hear a faint giggle coming from the closet door behind him that mellowed with a faint melody that lingered in the air. He stared at it surprised, realizing that it had been years since he opened that door where most of their old things were stored. Taking a deep breath, Edward prepared himself to face his son trying to put up a serious look in his face, to show his clear annoyance for all the trouble the mischievous child was causing. Once he opened the door, he knew he was in a losing battle. Little Andrew looked up at him behind dusty boxes, with a wide grin in his face and Edward couldn't help but to let out a chuckle at a grin he was too familiar with. "What are you doing here?" Edward's smile widened as he bent down to look closely at his son.

"Hide n' seek!" Andrew said proudly the most complex set of words he could say at his age in a cheerful tone, while raising his arms in the air.

"Oh really?" Edward said in a defeated tone. "And who's playing with you?"

"Daddy!" The kid replied in an instant pointing both indicators to his dad, making Edward laugh once more.

"Well... I found you!" Edward picked up his son making him laugh madly. "And you know it's bed time so playtime is over."

"Nooo!" Andrew's laughter vanished and was replaced by a small whimper as he held his father close to him. Edward sighed and began walking outside the closet but Andrew was fighting to stay, holding on to any box available to his hands.

"Andrew!" Edward now called in a more serious tone but Andrew's grip never lost its strength. Edward sighed trying to control his own temper and said. "Let go off the box."

"No..." Andrew's voice trembled while Edward closed his eyes to find somewhere in his imagination a way to get his child out of that place.

"Andrew." Winry's serene voice made both father and son look at her direction. She stepped inside the small closet holding the cardigan around her back with one hand while the other gave a gentle caress in the boy's cheek. "I think daddy has good story to tell tonight." The boy's gaze suddenly landed on Edward with his silenced curiosity.

"Well..." Edward said turning his gaze to Winry's gentle smile. "I guess I do."

"Ok!" Andrew smiled with his usual cheerful mood while Winry walked to the closet's door, giving them room to pass.

"I'll join you in a second." Winry said with her curious gaze on the boxes inside the closet.

"See you in a second then... don't forget to turn off the radio." Edward walked away towards the stairs and once inside the boy's room, Edward began to remember some of the stories of his teenage years on his journey, carefully changing details that were suitable for a child to hear about like... how tall the Fullmetal Alchemist was. It wasn't too long until little Andrew fell asleep, it seemed he was tired as his father was. With a content smile Edward leaned to leave a soft kiss in Andrew's forehead whispering a gentle goodnight. A yawn escaped his mouth as he headed to his room and he stopped by the doorframe only to stare at the empty room in confusion. Edward sighed wondering what piece of lost metal Winry had found inside that closet knowing that by now she was already engrossed in her work. He reached the closet door only to find his wife completely lost in a mountain of open boxes all around her. "What are you doing?" She stared at him startled by his interruption.

"I found the old pictures granny used to place in the board."

"Oh... we looked for those for a while, didn't we?" Edward walked inside the closet with difficulty with some of the open boxes getting in his way.

"Geez... I'm suddenly feeling old." Winry said with a smile as she stared at the pictures while Edward chuckled at her response trying to find a place to sit. Winry noticed and gave him some room to sit behind her and Edward gladly accepted her offer. Once in place, Winry leaned against him letting out a yawn showing him the picture. "This one was after your surgery."

"Wow, that's really old!" He stared at it with a bitter smile on his face remembering how young he was when he decided his journey. And from that picture on, many others took them to both bitter and happy memories making them go silent and making them laugh at the same time. Edward found one that left him confused and he tried to remember what was happening then. He knew it was sometime after he decided he was ready to settle down but he couldn't quite place the memory. Winry noticed and stared at it confused as well. It was a picture that only they were in, holding on to each other with a wide smile on their faces. Both knew each other too well to know that a sight like that was considerably rare, especially in a photograph.

"Who took that one?" Winry asked confused.

"Probably Al..." Edward handed her the picture. "But what happened? And where were we?"

"I don't know..." Winry was equally confused, until her brain finally gave a response. "We were at the hospital! When Al broke his leg, right?"

"Oh, that!" Edward growled with a frown on his face. "The bastard general had a brilliant idea that day, didn't he?" Winry chuckled at his exasperated tone as the picture danced in her fingers.

"It was a long day wasn't it?" She asked placing the picture back inside the box.

"Just like today..." Another yawn escaped Edward's mouth while Winry looked up at him. "But something else happened that day... I can't remember what." Edward said with a confused gaze.

"I remember now..." Winry's eyebrow raised like she was remembering something she didn't expect to bring out so much trouble. "We walked by the maternity and we had a bad idea."

"Oh..." Edward said with his gaze matching hers and equally staring into nothing. "So that's what happened." Now Winry was the one who opened her mouth to take a deep breath and exhale with tiredness while he looked at her amused. "You haven't slept too much lately, have you?"

"There's been so many commissions!" She said almost in a complaint. "I think I might need to go to Rush Valley to answer most of them. Andrew loves attention and I can't blame him..."

"Yeah, I know..." He agreed as he rested his chin on her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. "Al sent me his report last week and I haven't touched it yet..." Both of them grew silent, realizing what their lives had turned into. Working, changing diapers, playing with Andrew, looking for Andrew and enjoy every moment of peace to catch up their sleep. Yet another yawn from her interrupted his thoughts and he gently pushed her away. "Come on, let's go."

"I'm comfortable." She smiled letting the weight of her body falling into his hands.

"Well, I'm not." He gently smiled pushing her away and she obliged but with a clear frown in her face. She walked out of the closet, letting yet another yawn escape as she walked through the door, while he stared at her wobbly and tired body walking away. He turned off the light and gently closed the door to avoid any noise from awaking his son. He stretched his arms as he walked through the corridor, only to stop right after when he saw his wife standing near the staircase, with a curious look on her face as she tried to listen the humming sound. "Winry?"

"You know what we were doing then?" She was now facing him with a tired but wide smirk on her face, contributing more to his confusion. She held one of his hands while the other traveled to his shoulder pulling him closer to her. He leaned to her touch with a confused smile until she whispered to his ear. "We were dancing." Even after all the time they've been together her whispering voice still gave him chills up his spine and made him smile widely.

"No way..." He said in a numb tone and as her body began to slowly move from side to side, he pulled her closer to him and followed her movements.

"Just like this." He could feel her smile through her whispering words.

"That must've been a really long night then..." That was the only reasonable explanation that crossed his mind and judging by her small giggle, she agreed with him.

"We were so not thinking straight." She said now placing both arms around his neck while he responded by placing both his hands on her waist. The radio sound was distant and soft, almost inaudible as their steps followed the slow rhythm of the song. If it was a regular day like any other, Edward knew for sure they wouldn't be dancing. Winry knew all too well how much he disliked that ritual and he could count with his fingers the times they did it. Of one hand only, but he couldn't say he didn't enjoy it. Feeling her strong grip around his neck, always gave him a sense of security and warmth that he lost many years ago when his family got shattered and he was sure she felt exactly the same. Ever since, they've been each other's pillars without knowing, supporting each other through their arguments, worries and flying wrenches. And when that pillar was shaken things almost lost their way. Their experience in Briggs was hard on both of them and for the first time, Edward truly felt afraid to lose her. He knew he was tired... for memories like this to cross his mind and make him strengthen the grip around her, he just had to be. "Ed?"

"Hmm?" It was the only answer he was able to formulate at that point and he could feel her smile, understanding his response without needing further questioning. That was one of the things he enjoyed the most in their relationship. They knew each other all too well to understand the answers in their silences, but even he was aware that there were times words were the most reasonable thing to share, no matter how hard it was for him to say them. As their bodies moved together with the gentle hum of an old radio, it was impossible not to keep up with the memories crossing his mind, especially after watching so many pictures of his new journey.

Settling down was one of the hardest things he did but he knew he wouldn't be a wanderer forever. Not having a definitive home to return to, always left a big void in his heart. Even though the Rockbells always offered him a home to stay, it always felt like sleeping over at his old friend's place. After he decided to travel separated from his brother to different destinations, he had to be sure he would have _his_ home to return to, the pillar that always helped him as he grew up. She called him dumb, calling him an alchemist like it was an insult, but he knew he said the right thing when she replied him with percentages, typical of an automail engineer trying to figure out the right percentage of the materials to use in automail. It was amazing that after that he was eager to return _home_ as he was to search what was beyond his backyard.

Maybe that was why he decided to settle down, his heart battled too much between these two options and now he knew he did the best decision of his life. Because it never crossed his mind that this was also a journey, that could be as unexpected as his previous endeavors. He slowly opened his tired eyes, with the view of the hard-wood floor bringing him back to the present. His firstborn had turned out to be one of the biggest adventures he stepped into, and everyday he presented him something new. Even if both of them were tired and in urgent need of sleep, they couldn't deny the sense of peace and happiness that both of them felt and deserved after all the challenges they faced.

"You're still alive?" Yet another whisper to awaken him from his numb body making his smile wider.

"I'm still here." He replied in the same tune, until all his chain of thoughts fell into one question, making his head slightly raise. He didn't know if it was tiredness that brought it up to his brain. Still, with no hesitation at all, he let it out like it was the most natural thing to ask because he knew all too well the answer he was going to get. He leaned his mouth closed to her ear, giving a small caress to her long hair and asked.

"How about we get Andrew some company?"

Maybe dancing wasn't such a good idea...


End file.
